Hey guys. I am currently working on my CCNA, CCNET, and CompTIA Network +, and I would like some clarification as to how the whole system works. I am just a beginner to the class, but I am one of those people that is curious about everything and tends to jump the gun on subjects I care about.

Alright, I understand that each computer is assigned an IP address by their ISP (internet provider) which is like the address of a house to that computer. Somehow, after the ISP, the DNS gets involved in this. Once this is established, the computer will send specific PACKETS of various information through ports meant for various TASKS to preform. These packets communicate back and forth from computer to computer.

Now, on TOP of that, if a router gets involved, the IP address becomes the router's IP address and the IP of the computer is instead given a network address (thus 192.168.1.xxx). Once this is established, you can no longer connect to a specific computer using a program because you cannot tell which computer to connect to. So, if I were to use a VNC software on my Netbook (right beside my other computer) the server side installs fine. But the client side asks the IP address of the netbook. If I enter the IP address of the netbook (which I GET on the netbook and use whatsmyip.org to get), the connection fails. I am thinking I have to address the network address somehow. My IT teacher instructed me I have to navigate through the router, then to the selected computer. This is a little rhetorical.

From this situation, I am informed there is still quite a bit of information about networks I lack. I know that CCNA will teach me how to operate Cisco routers, switches, and other hardware with software. But my own curiosity has brought me to wonder how the whole process works. Is there ANY way I can tell my desktop to contact the router, find out it IS a router, then figure out which computer i am looking for, then navigate to it somehow? This is the long way, but it would help me understand my own home network.

I have searched around on Wiki and related sites, I am given a brief description, but it is either incomprehensible or extremely elementary.Well since your question seems legit and not a homework question I will be glad to explain your situation. Okay you know the basics between a public ip & a private ip right? A public ip is what the world (internet) sees and the private is what your pcs at home see for each other. The public ip is given to your router. Your router has 2 ips. One is the public & one is the private. Your computers communicate with your router through the private ip. Your router then TRANSLATES this private address back to the public ip. This is called NAT. It's what allows multiple ips to share 1 public ip. Anyways, when your vnc client asks for a server ip within your own network it should be the private ip. If you are trying to vnc to your home computer from outside your home then you give it the public ip. In your router you then have to look for the PORT FORWARDING setting. This tells the router that when a packet comes from the internet to its public ip for a certain port it then needs to know what pc (or private ip) it needs to send it to. That's how you'll get around your issue. So if I were to say if packets SENT through port 2005, go to 192.168.(enter private IP here)? In that case, what happens if you want to VNC multiple computers on that network? Say another desktop downstairs? Or is this impossible?Not impossible just have to think outside the box. Ports are not fixed to a certain service. Although there are standards that say x port should be x service, aka port 80 means web traffic it doesn't mean port 80 can't be another service. Likewise, port 2005 isn't just for vnc. When you set up the vnc server you just need to put a different port for each pc. That way you can then do what you want with port forwarding in your router to the right pc. It's definitely a hassle but not impossible.